Fukushima Nuclear Crisis Update for June 1st – June 4th, 2012

Here’s the latest of our news bulletins from the ongoing crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

State of Nuclear Politics in Japan

The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission, a Diet panel investigating the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, announced that it will interview former TEPCO President Masataka Shimizu, who was overseeing the Fukushima Daiichi plant as during last year’s nuclear crisis. The panel had previously said that it would wrap up its work following an interview with former Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who testified last week, but considerable controversy has arisen regarding whether or not TEPCO planned to abandon the plant as the disaster was unfolding. Government officials, including Yukio Edano, the head of METI, and former Prime Minister Kan insist that Shimizu made that request. If all workers had evacuated, the effects of the disaster would have been far more catastrophic.

International nuclear experts are criticizing efforts by the Japanese nuclear industry to stockpile surplus plutonium for use in reactors using MOX (mixed-oxide) fuel, a combination of plutonium and uranium. The MOX plan was a key component of the Japanese nuclear cycle and was supposed to allow reuse of spent fuel, resulting in a self-contained cycle. However, reprocessing has turned out to be more expensive than simply disposing of spent fuel by burying it, and the process itself has encountered numerous technical difficulties and public opposition. Japan currently has 35 tons of plutonium stored worldwide, and hopes to produce another half ton within the next nine months, raising global concerns that terrorists might obtain some of it and produce nuclear bombs. Experts point out that the industry has missed its own deadlines for how and when it will use the plutonium it’s already set aside. Frank Von Hippel, a Princeton University Professor and former Assistant Director for National Security at the White House, expressed alarm. “It’s crazy. There is absolutely no reason to [produce more]. There really is a credibility problem here. They keep making up these schedules, which are never realized. I think the ship is sinking beneath them.”

Shikoku Electric is working to restart nuclear reactors at its Ikata power plant in Ehime Prefecture. However, those efforts have stalled while members of the Diet continue to debate the best way to establish a new nuclear regulatory agency, after the Fukushima nuclear crisis exposed Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency’s (NISA) inadequacies and conflicts of interest as a regulator under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), which works to promote nuclear power. The new agency was originally scheduled to begin operation on April 1, but deliberations became stalled in the Diet. In the current debate, opposition parties are pushing for legally guaranteed independence, including control over personnel and budgetary decisions. The government is advocating for control of the entity by the Environment Ministry.

In an effort to promote energy-saving awareness, Japan’s Environment Ministry has launched a new service advising homeowners on how to conserve power. Residents can submit a questionnaire summarizing their daily electricity use to one of 42 centers located across the country. Experts will compare their power usage to that of other families, and suggest ways to conserve power. Home consultations are also available.

Toru Hashimoto, the politically powerful Mayor of Osaka, has suddenly rescinded his objections to restarting the Oi nuclear reactors in Fukui Prefecture, after a long and vocal fight against the restarts. His efforts included threats to topple the Noda administration’s government, which is led by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). On the evening of May 30, Hashimoto was still saying that he was “fundamentally opposed” to the restarts, but suddenly did an about-face the next morning with little explanation. “I am, in effect, approving [restarting the reactors],” he said. Recently, Hashimoto had softened his stance and suggested that the reactors be temporarily restarted just for three months, to deal with a power crunch predicted by Kansai Electric, operator of the Oi reactors. Kansai’s estimates have not been independently verified by any third-party experts. In addition, Hashimoto retracted his remarks about taking over the government from the DPJ. The Governor of Shiga Prefecture, Yukiko Kada, also vehemently opposed the restarts but is now indicating she may grant approval.

A year after the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, Japan continues to struggle with an estimated four million tons of radioactive debris, which resulted from last year’s earthquake and tsunami and was subsequently contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Over 90% of that debris is still waiting to be disposed of, because many cities and towns refuse to accept it out of fear of spreading contamination. Last week, protestors in Kita Kyushu City blocked trucks carrying debris from Miyagi and Iwate Prefectures for over eight hours. Before the nuclear crisis, the government-imposed limit of radioactive cesium in debris destined to be buried in landfills was 100 Bq/kg. Post-Fukushima, that limit has been raised to 80 times the original limit, or 8,000 Bq/kg.

Other Nuclear News

A former General Manager of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), as well as former head of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and California Power Authority (SPA) is speaking out about the dangers of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. S. David Freeman submitted an op-ed piece to the Sacramento Bee this week, in which he said that both the SONGS facility and Diablo Canyon need to be shut down immediately. Freeman wrote, “San Onofre and Diablo Canyon are both disasters waiting to happen: aging, unreliable reactors sitting near earthquake fault zones on the fragile Pacific Coast, with millions or hundreds of thousands of Californians living nearby. Does that sound alarmist? I’ve been in the utility industry for 40 years, and I have come to realize that you have to be blind not to be an alarmist about nuclear power…It’s time to look beyond the failed experiment with nuclear power and look to the future [of renewable energy].” He added, “Anyone who says last year’s catastrophe at Fukushima was an aberration is literally whistling past the graveyard. The risks are real, and it’s time to get rid of these time bombs before they go off.”

Pro-nuclear Yomiuri amazingly titles "Toshiba upbeat on N-plant business": after a few "old news", at the bottom of the article th...

Pro-nuclear Yomiuri amazingly titles "Toshiba upbeat on N-plant business": after a few "old news", at the bottom of the article the reader finds out that Toshiba is so upbeat on the nuclear business that it is planning to sell part of its stake in Westinghouse!

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(Unregistered) boris324
says:

I realize that cities and towns invested heavily in nuclear power and may go bankrupt if nuclear power is not continued. It would be great if it were ...

I realize that cities and towns invested heavily in nuclear power and may go bankrupt if nuclear power is not continued. It would be great if it were not for future earthquakes in Japan and California which will happen sooner or later. The choice will be to save lives without nuclear power or try to save community investments using nuclear power. A no brainer don't you think. Thank you Greenpeace for all the great information.

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(Unregistered) PCAH
says:

Somerset communities are currently suffering epidemics of excess cancers, cardiovascular and central nervous system illnesses and premature deaths. Th...

Somerset communities are currently suffering epidemics of excess cancers, cardiovascular and central nervous system illnesses and premature deaths. This dates from the 2006 installation of roof vents into the two defueled Magnox nuclear reactors on the Hinkley Point site, compounded by the imminent core collapse of the two Hinkley Point AGR reactors from the cracked, misaligned and crumbling graphite bricks. The Office for Nuclear Regulation refuses to order the resealing of the Magnox roofs, refuses to shut down the AGRs and the Health Protection Agency, Environment Agency and all other supposed nuclear regulators do nothing but pass the explosive nuclear parcel round among themselves. Meanwhile, the SW Public Health Observatory records unprecedented rises in perinatal mortality also dating from 2006.

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(Unregistered) Beppe
says:

According to NHK news yesterday Kansai Electric is seeking goverment approval to extend the operative life of the Mihama nuclear reactor 2 by 10 years...

According to NHK news yesterday Kansai Electric is seeking goverment approval to extend the operative life of the Mihama nuclear reactor 2 by 10 years, on top of the 40 it has been operating already. Nuclear reactors are usually designed to last 40 years only.

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(Unregistered) Beppe
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Update: the nearly defunct nuclear safety commission, also known for its cozy ties with the nuclear industry, approves Kansai Electric request to oper...

Update: the nearly defunct nuclear safety commission, also known for its cozy ties with the nuclear industry, approves Kansai Electric request to operate Mihama plant reactor 2 for 10 years beyond the 40 years life usually allowed by law in Japan and other countries.

Source in Japanese http://k.nhk.jp/knews/20120606/k10015651361000.html